Save Negative $0.91 On Sears Treadmills

By consumerist.comNovember 20, 2007

Trixare4kids writes:

I went down to Sears today in Oakland, California, and as I am walking by the treadmills this caught my eye. The sale price on this treadmill is .91 cents higher than the original price. Someone at Sears needs a to re-take basic math.

Actually, the portion of this sign that says, “save” bears no relation to the rest of the sign. It’s just a general reminder to all of us in life that it’s important to save things. Like receipts, memories, and rare stamps.

The “$599.88, was $598.97” signals consumers that the Horizon treadmill is increasing in value. Based on the price elasticity of demand curve, it’s either growing in demand, or decreasing in supply. Probably the latter, as the bottom of the sign reads, “limited quantities.” You could also intrepret the black word on orange background to mean “save yourself from being a fatass” or “save one of these treadmills before your neighbor gets one.” Really, it’s less a price placard than a tone poem.